Michael Moritz Net Worth

What is Michael Moritz's Net Worth?

Sir Michael Moritz is a Welsh-born American venture capitalist, philanthropist, and writer who has a net worth of $7 billion. Michael Moritz earned his fortune as a partner at Sequoia Capital. As a writer, he authored the books "The Little Kingdom: The Private Story of Apple Computer" and "Going for Broke: Lee Iacocca's Battle to Save Chrysler," and did reporting for Time magazine. Among his other endeavors, Moritz co-founded Technologic Partners and the charity Crankstart.

Early Life and Education

Michael Moritz was born on September 12, 1954 in Cardiff, Wales to Jewish parents Doris and Ludwig, both of whom had fled Nazi Germany. After attending Howardian High School in Cardiff, he went to Christ Church, Oxford, from which he obtained a bachelor's degree in history. Moritz subsequently went to graduate school in the United States at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, earning his MBA in 1978.

Writing Career

Moritz began his career as a journalist doing reporting for Time magazine. While working for the magazine in the early 1980s, he was contracted by Apple founder Steve Jobs to document the development of the first Mac computer for a book. In 1982, Moritz was in charge of the special Time Person of the Year issue, which was supposed to be about Jobs. However, following a series of interviews that shone a negative light on the Apple founder, the special issue was renamed Machine of the Year and focused more broadly on the rise of the computer. This deeply rankled Jobs, causing him to sever all ties with Moritz. However, Moritz still released his book, "The Little Kingdom: The Private Story of Apple Computer," in 1984. To mark the book's 25th anniversary in 2009, he published a revised and expanded version called "Return to the Little Kingdom: Steve Jobs, the Creation of Apple, and How it Changed the World." In the prologue to the book, Moritz reveals that he was just as upset as Jobs was about the 1982 Time magazine special issue.

Beyond his famous book on Jobs and Apple, Moritz has authored some other books. With Barrett Seaman, he co-wrote "Going for Broke: Lee Iacocca's Battle to Save Chrysler," a tongue-in-cheek work published in the early 1980s. Later, in 2015, Moritz co-wrote "Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United" with Alex Ferguson, former manager of the titular football team.

Venture Capital

In 1986, Moritz joined the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, headquartered in Menlo Park, California. He went on to co-found the technology newsletter and conference company Technologic Partners. Moritz specializes in investments in Internet companies, including Google, Yahoo!, PayPal, YouTube, and Zappos. His investment in Google made him one of Wales' richest men, and catapulted him to number one on Forbes's "Midas List" of the top dealmakers in technology in 2006 and 2007. Meanwhile, Moritz sits on the boards of numerous companies, including Gamefly, Klarna, LinkedIn, Stripe, and PopSugar. Although he stepped down from Sequoia Capital in 2023, he began running the wealth-management fund Sequoia Heritage, which eventually became independent of Sequoia Capital. Among his other ventures, Moritz helps fund the news website the San Francisco Standard.

Michael Moritz's Biggest VC Wins

1. Google (1999)

• Investment: Sequoia, led by Moritz, invested $12.5 million in Google at a $100 million valuation.
• Outcome: Google's IPO in 2004 valued the company at $23 billion. Today, Alphabet (Google's parent company) is worth over $1.8 trillion.
• Return: Sequoia's stake was worth over $4 billion at the time of the IPO.

2. PayPal (1999)

• Investment: Sequoia invested $6 million in PayPal at an early stage.
• Outcome: PayPal merged with Elon Musk's X.com and later went public in 2002 before being acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion.
• Return: Sequoia made an estimated 10-20x return.

3. LinkedIn (2003)

• Investment: Sequoia invested in LinkedIn's early funding rounds.
• Outcome: LinkedIn IPO'd in 2011 and was later acquired by Microsoft for $26.2 billion in 2016.
• Return: Estimated hundreds of millions to billions for Sequoia.

4. Yahoo! (1995)

• Investment: Sequoia invested $1 million in Yahoo! in 1995.
• Outcome: Yahoo! went public in 1996 and became one of the dominant internet companies of the late '90s, reaching a peak valuation of $125 billion.
• Return: Estimated thousands of times the original investment.

5. Stripe (2010s)

• Investment: Sequoia was an early backer of Stripe, founded by the Collison brothers.
• Outcome: Stripe became one of the most valuable private fintech startups, with a peak valuation of $95 billion in 2021.
• Return: Still private, but Sequoia's stake is likely worth billions.

6. WhatsApp (2011)

• Investment: Sequoia invested $8 million in WhatsApp in 2011.
• Outcome: Facebook (now Meta) acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014.
• Return: Sequoia made over $3 billion from a single $8 million investment—one of the best VC deals in history.

7. Airbnb (2009)

• Investment: Sequoia led Airbnb's Series A round, investing $585,000.
• Outcome: Airbnb IPO'd in 2020 at a valuation of $100 billion.
• Return: Sequoia's stake was worth billions at the IPO.

8. YouTube (2005)

• Investment: Sequoia led a $3.5 million Series A round for YouTube.
• Outcome: Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006.
• Return: Estimated 100x return.

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Philanthropy

Moritz is among the billionaires to have signed Bill Gates's and Warren Buffett's the Giving Pledge, signifying his commitment to give away at least 50% of his wealth during his lifetime. He has made numerous donations over the years, including large donations to his alma mater the University of Oxford. In 2008, his $50 million gift to Christ Church, Oxford was the largest single donation in the history of that college. Moritz has also given large donations to such institutions of higher learning as the Juilliard School; the University of California, San Francisco;  and the University of Chicago. His other major gifts include a $20 million donation to the ACLU in 2018, which was the largest single donation ever received by that group. Moritz conducts his philanthropy through Crankstart, a charity he started with his wife.

Personal Life & Real Estate

With his wife, American novelist Harriet Heyman, Moritz has two children and lives in San Francisco. In 2002, Michael paid $10.6 million for a large mansion in San Francisco. Today the home is worth $20-30 million.

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